Wii U
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The only demos I can think of that I played a lot are the ones for Sonic Unleashed and Mirror's Edge, just constantly trying to better my time. I ended up buying both of them but, in the case of Sonic Unleashed, I might not have done if the demo had only had 10 uses so, in that particular case, the demo limit might have been a bad idea. But that's the only example I can really think of, overall I'm not bothered by it.

Wow. Just popped into my local game and all wii u space is gone. It has been relegated right to the back of the shop with a half stand display that is smaller than the vita. Not a single advert or anything left in the "prime areas."

Armoured_Bear wrote:
Yep, they really need to use the time after E3 to relaunch the console.

Somehow I doubt the supermarkets etc will try again, no matter how good any relaunch is. That ship has sailed. They may fight and reclaim space in the specialist stores, but Asda etc will not bother with another promotion. Games as a whole are diminishing in the supermarkets (my Morrisons have pulled out totally, and Asda have halved the space) so I don't see them doing second chances.

Armoured_Bear wrote:
Yep, they really need to use the time after E3 to relaunch the console.

Somehow I doubt the supermarkets etc will try again, no matter how good any relaunch is. That ship has sailed. They may fight and reclaim space in the specialist stores, but Asda etc will not bother with another promotion. Games as a whole are diminishing in the supermarkets (my Morrisons have pulled out totally, and Asda have halved the space) so I don't see them doing second chances.

Yes, if Nintendo somehow brings out a load of great games with huge advertising and gets a lot of media attention and consumer interest supermarkets will decide that they don't want to make money/get people through the doors.
They're personal like that, one chance- blow it and that's it.

I don't see supermarkets allocating much space to the next Playstation or Xbox either, grabbing temporary foot traffic with loss leading pricing on high profile new releases has never been the basis of a sustainable business.

It's too early to say really. The supermarkets have only really been selling games in significant quantities since mid-way through the last gen, to my recollection. Perhaps it'll work the same way this time, in that they'll only really get behind the new consoles about a year after all three are out?

mal wrote:
It's too early to say really. The supermarkets have only really been selling games in significant quantities since mid-way through the last gen, to my recollection. Perhaps it'll work the same way this time, in that they'll only really get behind the new consoles about a year after all three are out?

What they're doing is clearly not the result of any long-term strategy. It's ridiculous to think there was any sort of plan which involved promoting and stocking the Wii U at launch, then massively discounting it and clearing everything out with an eye to bringing it all back again later. They're cutting their losses and nothing more.

I'm sure they might consider stocking it again should some sort of miracle occur and it achieves Wii-like popularity, but I also don't think that's going to happen.

Did the supermarkets or any other retailer for that matter actually make an effort in promoting the Wii U? My local Tesco did have a small area for Wii U games (mainly overpriced shovel-ware titles) but they never stocked the Wii U console, this had to be ordered online for an in-store pick up. This space was gone just after Christmas.

As I’ve said before “I think the scaremongering from Nintendo concerning Wii U shortages” has backfired and only a system re-launch with a new price structure would prevent an early death. Nintendo have lost their fan-base; fans have moved on. Even regular gamers know little or haven’t even heard of the Wii U.

What chance do Nintendo have of selling a new console that no-one is aware of? The potential casual market will see the name Wii and surmise “We already have a Wii console.” The core market will see the name Wii and think “Shovel-ware magnet.”

I don’t think the problems that Nintendo have with the Wii U have any similarities to the 3DS situation. I think Nintendo have overestimated the Wii brand name; even a Smash Bros, 3D Mario or a 35 million seller like Mario Kart won’t draw people’s attention if the hardware and software don’t have store shelf space.

An ad for Mario Kart U using the Wii steering wheel will only make the audience think “I’ve already got that game.” The Wii U name, backward compatibility with Wii games and peripherals has all contributed to the confusing surrounding the fact whether the Wii U is a new console or a tablet add-on.

It will be a shame if the Wii U fails; as it is currently the best console available at the moment.

I really don't want to be too harsh on my recent investment, as I knew I was buying it mainly for the games to come, and for the better half to enjoy SMBu now, but it is almost impossible to overlook that Nintendo seem to have done nothing of note with the wii store library since Mario Galaxy, when I last looked. Saying the eShop is shit is a big compliment imo, as by some strange irony it is worse than the wii store for content and value for money. I'd love to meet the person that had the nerve to limit shit like (spot the difference) Zombie U demos to 30 uses. Have they not looked at the competition (including the Vita)?

I can only reason that they've spent so much money and effort on all the ill advised mii/wii channel infrastructure, and now no one is critically assessing the output for breadth and quality of games any more.

I think if you took almost any core consumer at the moment and gave them carte blanche to make changes in Nintendo, I suspect most would march into Miyamoto's office and kick his tea table towards his wall like WE6 Batistuta Exocet missile; not just up end the table.

I am completely bemused by the inability to buy Pilotwings64 from the Wii channel? They could have the game published by the end of the day if they just pulled their finger out.

I sadly think Iwata and Miyamoto have fallen foul of the Peter Principle.

The demo limit is set by the Publisher not Nintendo and who seriously plays a demo more than 30 times?

@Armoured_Bear

It isn't that I wanted to play Spot the difference Zombies U edition more(I deleted the 1.5Gb after the 5min washed out corridor asked me to scan for the third time), I'm just highlighting the backward thinking Nintendo have began, even though they are a generation behind the competition in content and delivery of HD (and SD content) through their digital marketplace.

If Sony, Microsoft and Steam pulled this type of thing they'd get laughed out of town. I for one value my console storage space, my time/effort to download the content much higher than my threshold to put up with Nintendo's anti-consumer practices.

So I'm just trying to be fair to all platform holders in being critical.

Sid-Nice wrote:
It will be a shame if the Wii U fails; as it is currently the best console available at the moment.

You're being serious I hope.

In any context, it's the worst. Practically any console from the last decade or so makes more sense in terms of available library of games.

I have spent more time playing games on the Wii U during the consoles early life cycle than I did playing on the Xbox 360 or PS3 over a similar period. The current available software on the Wii U looks dire in comparison to the libraries currently available on rival consoles; people seem to forget that there was gaming droughts on both current gen consoles and not forgetting “Hardware problems.”

The Wii U could have launched with the best AAA launch line-up ever and would still be in the same predicament as it is today. The success of the Wii has been the Wii U downfall and people bought the Wii initially for 1 game not a library.

I certainly think that the Wii U is an excellent console with some great games out, but mainly if you're not a multi-platform owner and didn't have unrealistic expectations of what it'd be. I'm not sure if I'd say it's my favourite, but I can understand that opinion.

Sid-Nice wrote:
It will be a shame if the Wii U fails; as it is currently the best console available at the moment.

You're being serious I hope.

In any context, it's the worst. Practically any console from the last decade or so makes more sense in terms of available library of games.

I have spent more time playing games on the Wii U during the consoles early life cycle than I did playing on the Xbox 360 or PS3 over a similar period. The current available software on the Wii U looks dire in comparison to the libraries currently available on rival consoles; people seem to forget that there was gaming droughts on both current gen consoles and not forgetting “Hardware problems.”

The Wii U could have launched with the best AAA launch line-up ever and would still be in the same predicament as it is today. The success of the Wii has been the Wii U downfall and people bought the Wii initially for 1 game not a library.

But in what world does this make the WiiU the best console available at the moment?!

But in what world does this make the WiiU the best console available at the moment?!

I have a PS3 and Xbox 360 and in my opinion the Wii U is a far superior gaming experience. If the Wii U has a long enough lifespan; I can see some wonderful titles using the Gamepad interactivity. I still think Nintendo are a cowboy outfit when it comes to the video games industry.